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Distance: | 256 miles |
| Difficulty: | Strenuous |
| Way-marking: | Very good |
Trails:
| Mostly high level hiking, much of time on open moors. Be prepared for mud and difficult footing.
| | Lodging Styles: | English B&Bs |
| Best Season: | Summer, early Fall |
Highlights:
| The most well-known long-distance path in England. The upper stages are beautiful. B&B hospitality for us was outstanding.
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There are over 300 long-distance hiking trails in England, but none is more famous,  nor possibly more challenging, than The Pennine Way. Covering a distance of just over 250 miles, the route follows the spine of the Pennine Mountains, northern England’s continental divide, “seeking out the most dramatic ridges and sweeps of moorland…..ending across the Scottish border at Kirk Yetholm”.
We joined the route where it entered the Yorkshire Dales. These beautiful remote valleys became endeared to Americans with the publishing of All Creatures Great and Small, and other books by the Yorkshire veterinarian, James Herriott. The Dales, with their old grey farmhouses,  green fields, and stone walls, evoke a sense of being lost in time. Herriott once said, “I think that the American people like my stories because they are reaching out for the simple things…...old unspoiled Yorkshire and a way of life so different from their own.” This is walking country. So whether or not you’re on a long-distance path, be sure to pack your hiking boots.
Once leaving Yorkshire the Pennine Way enters the northern Pennines where expansive moorlands and dramatic drops will make you feel at times that you’re standing in the middle of the western US instead of a tiny island. The route stays high along wide open moors which would be  impossible, or at least miserable to cross, if not for the incredible trail work placing stones or boardwalks along sections of the peaty bog. Several long mileage days can test your endurance. In spite of this, one B&B proprietor said that last year, an 88 year old woman was doing the Pennine Way with three of her younger (in their seventies) friends. She told the man, “I’m going to spend my money before Tony Blair gets a hold of it.”
Most of the B&B or farm accommodations we found along this portion of the route catered to walkers. People took us in after a long day, soothed our aching bodies with tea, scones, and cold beer, gave us a lift to the pub, washed our muddy clothes, and practically tucked us into bed. I told Craig Hendee as he taped the blisters on his feet, “The hiking will be memorable and a grand accomplishment, but it’s the people you’ll remember most”.
Not only are the people generous  and welcoming, they are always eager to fill you in on bits of local history. It was here that someone explained to us why the British drive on the “wrong” side of the road. You see, on the old fashioned carriages, the drivers held their swords with their right hand to ward off an attack off the side of the carriage, therefore seating them on the right. In America, the actual steering was done off the left as we see today. The French followed suit said the locals…….just to be different from the British.
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